CAREC Business Development Forum (October 2006)

Organizers

The Ministry of Commerce of the PRC and the Asian Development Bank are working with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce, in organizing the Business Development Forum (BDF).

Rationale/Background

Building on the results of the Central-South Asia Regional Business Roundtable in Bishkek in November 2005, which called for a more detailed development of opportunities and recommendations for the major sectors of business interest in Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), this forum will explore the vast opportunities for partnerships between private and public sectors and across private businesses in support of regional cooperation initiatives.

It is against this backdrop that the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Business Development Forum (CAREC BDF) was designed to bring together business leaders and policy makers in Central Asia to explore and realize the potential for greater business participation in regional opportunities in industry, services, and infrastructure projects across Central Asia.

Objectives

  • To enhance business involvement in regional projects and cooperation programs and identify possible joint initiatives in the priority sectors of development;
  • To facilitate regional trade and investment and enhance business environments;
  • To stimulate public-private partnerships toward meeting Central Asia’s infrastructure needs;
  • To build private sector networks and provide business a voice in the development of the region.

Expected Outputs

The CAREC BDF will bring together business leaders and policy makers toward formulating specific proposals to reduce impediments to regional cooperation and development.

The BDF, which will be meeting along the fringes of the CAREC Ministerial Conference, is expected to come out with a set of recommendations for submission to and consideration by the Ministers of CAREC. As an action-oriented forum, it will place emphasis on the identification of ways by which business sector participation in the activities of the working groups of CAREC may be enhanced. Specific opportunities and challenges will be also be identified by the forum towards addressing obstacles to investments and public-private partnership.

Participants

Participants will include senior business leaders and policy makers involved in Central Asia who can contribute in the process of exploring and building partnerships toward an enhanced business environment and broader business participation in regional cooperation and development in Central Asia.

Format

The CAREC BDF will involve 1 day of formal meetings and an additional half day for networking and discussions on specific projects. Discussion groups will focus on the identification of practical opportunities and partnerships in each of the five priority sectors — (i) Energy, (ii) Mining, (iii) Agribusiness, (iv) Finance Sector, and (v) Tourism and Related Services.

Event Materials